The present invention relates to a rerouting mechanism for use in transferring the movement of a driving member in a driving direction to a driven member in a driven direction out of alignment with the driving direction, the driven member operating a movable plate of a slide gate or a sliding enclosure unit for use in controlling the discharge of molten metal from a metallurgical vessel.
As is known, a movable plate of a slide gate is moved by a driven member, for example, a thrust rod, in a driven direction, particularly, rectilinearly, by a drive unit including a driving member that is movable in a driving direction. Typically the driving unit is a hydraulic cylinder that includes a driving member in the form of a piston rod that is moved rectilinearly. It furthermore is known that it normally is not possible to align the rectilinear piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder with the rectilinear thrust rod that moves the movable plate of the slide gate. This is due to a number of factors, for example lack of available space as well as to the danger of subjecting the drive unit to severe heat radiation. As a result, it is known to mount the drive unit itself, for example in a hinged manner, at a separate location, for example on the side of the metallurgical vessel. The direction of movement of the driving member of the drive unit therefore is out of alignment with the thrust rod or other mechanism that moves the movable plate of the slide gate. It therefore is necessary to provide a rerouting mechanism between the drive unit and the thrust rod to transfer movement of the driving member in a driving direction to movement of the driven member in a driven direction, such two directions being out of alignment.
A typical known such rerouting mechanism is disclosed in German DE-OS 25 45 514. This mechanism provides a substantially triangular member or guide that operates essentially in the manner of a bell crank hinged to the wall of the metallurgical vessel and to a driving member of the drive unit, for example a piston rod of a hydraulic cylinder-piston unit, and to a pressure-thrust rod for achieving movement of a movable plate of the slide gate. This known arrangement however has the significant disadvantage that the forces imparted to the pressure-thrust rod for moving the movable plate are not strictly in the rectilinear direction of movement of the movable plate. Rather, such forces include, depending upon the relative position of the mechanism, significant cross forces. As a result, the stroke of movement of the movable plate is limited. Addition, it is difficult to achieve a constant, precise transfer of motion to the movable plate.